Wrist guard



June 26, 1956 D. T. PATRAW ET AL 2,751,595

WRIST GUARD Filed March 51, 1954 12 if Z3 INVENTOR F. Donald 7. Pafr'awJohn E. Nekaw/fsc/z A ORNEY United States Pateht O WRIST GUARD Donald T.Pan-aw and John E. Nekowitsch, St. Paul, Minn.

Application March 31, 1954, Serial No. 419,976

3 Claims. or. 2-59 This invention relates to an improvement in wristguards and deals particularly with a guard useful in protecting thewrists and forearms of packing house workers and the like.

In packing houses and similar establishments where large sharp knivesare used, there is often a considerable danger of slashing the forearmsand wrists due to the knife slipping from the meat on which the knife isbeing used. As a result it is customary for such workers to Wear heavygloves usually impregnated with metal strands of some type, and also touse a guard which encircles the wrist and forearm.

Various types of wrist guards have been used for the purpose. Heavyleather guards have been used but these guards have the disadvantage ofabsorbing moisture and giving ofl small particles of cut leather, andare, accordingly, not particularly sanitary. The applicant has attemptedto use heavy plastic material, such as Plexiglas, for this purpose, butsuch guards have the disadvantage that they will shatter in use. Theyare also too brittle, and lack flexibility. The present inventionrelates to an improvement in such guards and in making the guards of aresilient flexible plastic material, such as Fiberglas in one form oranother.

A feature of the present invention resides in the provision of a wristguard formed of Fiberglas cloth or mat material and in forming the guardso that it will normally encircle the Wrist and forearm. Fiberglas hasthe advantage of being practically indestructible in normal use and hasthe advantage over previous materials that it will not absorb moistureand will not crack or shatter. As a result, guards of this type are moresanitary to use and cannot contaminate the meat with which they may comein contact. They also possess greater elasticity, greater tensilestrength, and greater durability, and can give off no foreign materialwhich can possibly contaminate meat products.

A feature of the present invention lies in forming a wrist guard in theshape of a tapered sleeve, with longitudinal edges arranged inoverlapping relationship. The guard fits over the forearm, the wrist,and over the palm of the hand, leaving no exposed area. Other guardsusually terminate short of the wrist, thus exposing portions of the arm.As a result guides of this type may protect the wrist without requiringany fastening means for fastening the edges of the guard together. Mostof the guards previously constructed have been equipped with lacings orsnaps of one type or another to hold the guard in wrist encirclingrelation.

A feature of the present invention resides in the fact that the materialis sufliciently flexible so that it may be spread apart to fit over thehand and at the same time will continuously protect the wrist when inuse. The guard is generally oval in cross section so as to fit the shapeof the arm and the wrist opening is sufficiently large so that it canfit about the wrist portion of the glove, the resilience of the materialholding the guard snugly in place.

2 A further feature of the present invention resides in the provision ofa guard which is economical to construct, is light in weight, and issufliciently thin so that it does not hamper the use of the arm.

These andother objects and novel features of the invention will be moreclearly and fully set forth in the following specification and claims.

In the drawings forming a part of the specification:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the wrist guard in wrist protectingposition.

Figure 2 is a perspective view of the wrist guard removed from thewrist.

Figure 3 is a diagrammatic view of the shape of the blank which is usedin the formation of the guard.

The wrist guard is indicated in general by the letter A and is usuallyworn about the wrist or forearm to extend over the gauntlet portion of aglove, such as B. A glove B is usually of the type incorporating metalstrands or the like or the glove may be formed of metal mesh of one typeor another so as to protect the hand.

The guard A is indicated in its blank form in Figure 3 of the drawings.Actually, while a rough blank of the general type illustrated is made atthe beginning of the operation, the material is usually trimmed afterthe material has set and cured so that the starting blank is usuallysomewhat larger than the finished product.

The guard A comprises a sheet of Fiberglas cloth or mat which is ofsutficient thickness to give the desired protection. It has been foundthat a sheet having a thickness of approximately one-sixteenth of aninch or slightly less, will give the necessary protection to the Wristand at the same time will be light in weight and will be sufiicientlyflexible and resilient so that it may be easily used. The sheet 10 ofFiberglas is usually narrowest at its center point, being usuallyprovided with a generally V-shaped wide notch 11 at approximately itscenter point. On either side of the notch 11, the sheet is rounded asindicated at 12 and 13 and continues to form somewhat rounded endportions 14 and 15 respectively.

The opposite edge of the guard is slightly curved as shown at 16,blending into the rounded end 15 and communicating with the rounded end14 along a relatively sharper corner 17.

When the guard is completed, it appears as indicated in Figure 2 of thedrawings. In the particular form of construction illustrated, the edge14 lies outwardly of the edge 15 which it overlaps. However, in actualpractice either of the edges may overlap the other and be outermost.

As will be noted from a comparison of Figures 1 and 2 of the drawings,the notch 11 extends along the lower side of the arm while a somewhatsimilar notch 19 is formed by the rounded edges 12 and 13 adjoining theoverlapped edges 14 and 15. The overlapped edges are shown on the uppersurface of the arm. Thus, it will be seen that the lateral sides of theguard are somewhat longer than the top and bottom, thus providing amaximum of protection with a minimum of confinement of the arm muscles.

It is usual practice to take the Fiberglas cloth and mat and impregnateit with suitable chemicals which soften the material and permit it to bebent into any shape. The material is then bent around a suitable formand held in approximate position shown in Figures 1 and 2 of thedrawings until the material has cured suificiently so that it can beused. At the present time the guards are usually kept for a period ofseveral days before they are removed from the forms and used.

The material is sufiiciently flexible so that the guard may be rolledinto a flat form if sufficient pressure is exerted thereupon. However,normally the guard will assume the position shown in Figures 1 and 2 andwill re- 3 main inthi's position unless the ends of the guard are spreadapart. As a result the guard may be expanded sufiiciently to permit thegloved hand to be inserted or removed fromthe guard with littledithculty.

In the formed position, the guard is usually oval in cross section tofit the contour of the arm. The guards may-also be produced invarioussizes if desired; although because of the flexibility of the material, asingle size of guard fit most arms. When the materiak is formed andcured, it will not absorb liquid to any appreciable extent and,accordingly, is sanitary to use and provides 7 utmost protection eventhough it is extremely light in weight. The color is molded into thematerial.

Fiberglas is capable of being molded to the desired shape either at roomtemperature or higher temperatures. Usually, several laminations ofmatenial are combined, the layers being of Fiberglas mat or cloth,cotton or nylon, passed through a bath and impregnated with catalyzedresin.v This material is then cured as a laminate, either at roomtemperature or at elevated temperatures.

In. accordance with the patent statutes, We have de-' scribed theprinciples of construction and operation: of our wrist guard, and whilevwe have endeavored to' set forth the best embodiment thereof, We desireto have itiunder- 2 stood that obvious changes may be made within thescope of the following claims without departing from the spirit ofour-"invention.

We claim: l. A guard for use by packing house Workers and the likecomprising an elongated, relatively stable tapered sleeve of flexibleresilient plastic impregnated Fiberglas material capable of returning toits original form after being flexed out of its normal shape, saidsleeve being I V References (Zited in the file of this patent,

UNITED STATES PATENTS 741,133 Haynes Oct. 13-, 1903 2,311,613 SlayterFeb. 16-, 1943 2,425,333 McCar-l Aug. 12, 1947 2,513,268 Steinman June27, 1950

